Happy Soul Food Friday!
This week:
- Start the Day Right with G.R.A.C.E.
- About Damn Time with Lizzo
- Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman
- Let It Go or Let It Be?
- Teach Your Children (and Parents) Well
Look to this Day,
for it is Life – the very Life of Life.
In its brief course lie all the verities
and realities of your existence:
the Bliss of Growth,
the Glory of Action,
the Splendor of Beauty.
For yesterday is already a dream
and tomorrow is only a vision;
but today, well-lived,
makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this Day.
Such is the salutation of the Dawn.
-Kalidasa
For 40 years, I have been practicing and teaching the wisdom traditions at UC San Diego.
“Practice Makes Permanent. Perfect Practice Makes Perfect” so still working at it…
During Covid, I have been doing this virtually every week at work as an act of service to support our mental wellbeing and practice self-care.
One helpful skill has been learning to quiet the mind and practice present moment mindfulness by going within, exploring inner space (Psycho-nauts instead of Astro-nauts), and connecting via intuition and inner knowing with our deepest and most authentic self.
Many of us when striving to sit quietly, find our time and space hijacked by our monkey mind, so we need a redirect that tames that pesky beast in order to go deeper.
“All’s Well That Begins Well”
Here is a sampler, if you could use a 15 minute tune up, to Start the Day Right. You can also just plug in some headphones, line down on your bed if you prefer, and set the intention for the day.
If you find this valuable, we can add a few more sessions, from progressive relaxations, to guided meditations, to energy center tune ups, to out of body visualizations to a YouTube channel and send you a link- just let me know.
G.R.A.C.E.
Start the Morning Right – G.R.A.C.E – YouTube
A 15 minute session to practice mindfulness and greet the new day with intention
PRIDE Month-
Lizzo- Amount Damn Time
You Be You!
Lizzo – About Damn Time [Official Video] – YouTube
Hymn for the Hurting
By Amanda Gorman
Everything hurts,
Our hearts shadowed and strange,
Minds made muddied and mute.
We carry tragedy, terrifying and true.
And yet none of it is new;
We knew it as home,
As horror,
As heritage.
Even our children
Cannot be children,
Cannot be.
Everything hurts.
It’s a hard time to be alive,
And even harder to stay that way.
We’re burdened to live out these days,
While at the same time, blessed to outlive them.
This alarm is how we know
We must be altered —
That we must differ or die,
That we must triumph or try.
Thus while hate cannot be terminated,
It can be transformed
Into a love that lets us live.
May we not just grieve, but give:
May we not just ache, but act;
May our signed right to bear arms
Never blind our sight from shared harm;
May we choose our children over chaos.
May another innocent never be lost.
Maybe everything hurts,
Our hearts shadowed & strange.
But only when everything hurts
May everything change.
Let It Go or Let It Be?
Which is the better mantra for calming the mind?
Feeling Anxious? Say These 3 Words to Calm Down, According to Scientists and Zen Monks | Inc.com
Teach Your Children (and Your Parents) Well:
Crosby, Stills & Nash (Live) – Teach Your Children – YouTube
Thanks this week go to Jai L, Aysha S-B, Kurt C, & Chris B!
Please pay if forward!
Love,
Neville
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria
“Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next” – Dr. Jonas Salk
Happy Soul Food Friday! 